SHTF - Tula .223 FMJ or HP?

Assuming you've confirmed your AR handles Tula .223 well enough and you want to buy a few bricks to tuck away in a dark corner of the basement for "just in case" ammo... Has anyone fired Tula .223 55 or 62 grain hollow points into any kind of test medium? Do they come apart really bad? Expand at all? Penetration? Bottom line, if you were FORCED to have to choose either the FMJ or HP to shoot a bad guy after 'the apocalypse', which would be the better choice?

Not the Tula specifically, nor is it FMJ or JHP, but in my experience the Russian soft point ammo produces very destructive fragmentation in soft targets. I have also noticed that some of the Russian hollow points penetrate more than I would expect them to.

The factory ammo that I stockpile and store in SHTF mags is the 55gr FMJ Federal that Cabelas often has on sale. For HD hunting and general practice I use reloads in Ballistic tips or bulk Rem HP or FMJ bullets in a time tested load of 25gr H335.
I haven't shot any of the Russian 223 but in the situation you describe I think good penetration would be generally most desirable with some good thin jacketed varmint loads for any occasion in which you might want dynamic expansion and minimal penetration.

I haven't tried and Tula ammo but have tried 62 jhp Wolf which I think is the same except for name.
One day I filled some 14.5 oz cans with water to compare 62 jhp Wolf vs 50 jhp Federal. With the Federal the can explodes but the Wolf just goes through the can but it looks like it has expanded some.

Let me start by saying this was by no means a scientific! It is 100% anecdotal

My sons and I got rid of our pumpkins after Halloween by taking them to the range. I brought Brown and Silver Bear FMJ and HP 55gr plus IMI M193 and Prvi 75gr OTM. ALL of the Bear ammo was tiny .22 holes of both sides of the pumpkins. The IMI M193 and Prvi 75gr OTM was .22 entrance wound and then a fist sized chunks off the back side.

That being said, I'm happy with having one of my AR's loaded with a mag of Prvi 75gr OTM.

If your are stocking up for a SHTF I would say you need 3-4 types of ammo.
One of the AR15 advantages is it's ability to adapt. I stock 55, 62, & 69 gr bullets. I have FMJ, SP, and HP on hand.
The Tula that I have used is some of the dirtiest stuff I have ever shoot. It's functional but dirty.

The 'shtf' today for some Coke bottles, which today waited to attack me from the river bottom. I used mostly Wolf jhp in my SKS.

It now has the Tech Sight, and is much more accurate, even taking only three seconds for certain shots, resting the Norinco on a fallen log.

Although extremely remote, if our area on the outer edge of the metro area ever suffered a catastrophe for many weeks, having a gun would not help us. I don't know how a given type of gun or ammo will help us procure refrigerated insulin for a family member.

Back in the days HP ammo are non existent. Some even use wadcutters to good effect. Just have enough ammo that works well with your gun of choice and have some backup firearm for good measure. In all likelhood, you wont be shooting more than you need to be.

I like to stock Black Hills 55 grain Soft Points personally with a few FMJs in the mix. I want a good ammo manufacturer's ammo, and Black Hills is probably the best .223 ammo I have ever shot.
I have never had a fail to feed, eject, fail to fire, or any other malfunction with their ammunition, and it is the most accurate I have shot also as far as factory ammo I have bought.

I use Tula in 20-round mags for practice, and Lake City M855 in 30-round mags for SHTF. In the end, however, it really doesn't matter what you use as long is it feeds, fires, and ejects (preferably in that order), and makes holes in what you're shooting at. Consider that no matter the size of the hole it makes, it's damn well gonna hurt.

Barring zombie apocalypses, EMP attacks, impacts from the Apophis asteroid, global economic collapse, or mutated avianswineflu... the other disaster scenario to prepare for is 4 more years of "Hope and Change"! The "what if I can't BUY any more ammo because it's not banned but taxed to $5 per round?" question becomes possible. Quantity does have a quality all it's own.

Thanks for the opinions, folks. I think I'll just go with the FMJ because it is the least expensive and is likely to do anything I need it to in SHTF situations. God willing, those heavy cardboard boxes will just sit quietly under the basement stairs for a few decades and then I'll get to enjoy watching my grand kids shoot it all up in my back yard.

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